Author of OUTBACK LOVE a contemporary romance novel set in Australia, JETTING AWAY a short story prequel to OUTBACK LOVE, MOON OVER MADNESS a paranormal romantic comedy and BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS a collection of short stories and poems about life and love. All are available online at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Apple, Sony, Diesel and Kobo. On Twitter @TeriHeyer

Wednesday, January 30, 2013

When Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon, discovered Florida in 1513 he gave it the name, La Florida, for a very good reason. Florida is all about the flowers, every shape, size and color you can imagine.

I first came to Florida thirty-one years ago this month and knew instantly that I had to stay. I got off the plane in Daytona Beach and fell in love with the balmy temp, sunny blue skies and fragrant flowers everywhere.

Azaleas in my yard.

Though I've moved away from Florida from time to time over the past years, I've always moved back. Although I have to admit the beaches are a big draw, I can't stay away from Florida's beautiful flowers. Even in the midst of winter, flowers bloom everywhere in Florida.

It's the end of January and my yard is abloom with azaleas of every shade, in addition to little white wildflowers that look like daisies. My tulip tree is just starting to bloom and my Easter Lilies will be gracing my yard in no time at all. Then I have an assortment of periwinkles, marigolds and other flowers I can't even name. And all this in the middle of winter.

More azaleas in my yard.

Florida is a huge state with a subtropical climate in the north and a tropical climate in the south. I live on the Panhandle which means azaleas, magnolias, jasmine, gardenias, camellias, wisteria, mimosa, more flowers and blooms than I can even begin to name.

Daisy-like wildflowers in my yard.

I have a passion for flowers, not cut floral bouquets, but flowers growing in my yard, in pots, around the neighborhood, in parks, well, everywhere. I particularly like driving through the older neighborhoods which tend to be a panopoly of blooms in a riot of colors all year round.

Now this is where I confess that if a book has flowers on the cover, or if some flower is in the title, well, I stop and take a closer look at that book. Consequently, I read and enjoy a lot of books with flower titles. For this reason, I've put together a list of flower fiction just for you.

Fiction with Flowers (in no particular order):

The Flame and the Flower by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss*Beach Roses by Jean StoneCaramel and Magnolias byTess ThompsonBlood Orchids (Lei Crime Series #1) by Toby Neal**Torch Ginger (Lei Crime Series #2) by Toby Neal**Black Jasmine (Lei Crime Series #3) by Toby Neal**The Rose Garden by Susanna Kearsley**Daisies in the Wind by Jill GregoryThe Blood Upon the Rose by Tim Vicary*Flowers in the Blood by Gay CouterReturn of the Rose by Theresa Ragan**The Women of Magnolia by Kate McCabeMagnolia Park by Kate McCabeRawhide and Roses by Maddie James**Flowers on Main (Chesapeake Shores) by Sherryl WoodsWhere Azaleas Bloom (Sweet Magnolias) by Sherryl WoodsBeneath the Honeysuckle Vine by Marcia Lynn McClure**Magnolia Moon (Callahan Brothers Trilogy) by JoAnn Ross*Winter of the Passion Flower (The de Vargas Family #1, Steampunk) by Annie SeatonHe Kissed Me Between the Geraniums and the Daisies by Janice SilkworthMagnolias, Moonlight and Murder (Elle Avery Mystery) by Sara RosettPrairie Rose (A Town Called Hope #1) by Catherine Palmer**The Orchid Keeper's Son by Barbara ArnoldPlease Don't Eat the Daisies by Jean Kerr*Millie's Rose by Donna SturgeonWild Orchids by Karen Robards*Paper Roses (Texas Dreams #1) by Amanda Cabot*Elly in Bloom by Colleen OakesThe Pink Rose by Alicia RobertsFlowers for Victoria by Sunni JeffersSleeping with Anemone (A Flower Shop Mystery) by Kate CollinsThe Flower Trilogy: Violet, Lily, Rose by Lauren RoyalSummer of Roses (Summer's Child) by LuAnne Rice*Magnolia Creek by Jill Marie LandisComing Up Roses by Catherine AndersonA Field of Poppies by Sharon SalaRoses in Moonlight by Lynn Kurland*A Garden in the Rain by Lynn Kurland*Staying at Daisy's byJill Mansell**Flowers from the Storm by Laura KinsaleYellow Rose Bride by Lori CopelandOrchids in Moonlight by Patricia Hagan**Flowers from the Heart by Louise ArmstrongSummer Rose by Elizabeth Sinclair**Blood on the Orchid (A Wolfgang Fenstemier Mystery) by R. Harris Harrison**Murder at the Azalea Festival (Wilmington Series) by Ellen Elizabeth HunterThe Iron Rose (Pirate Wolf Series) by Marsha CanhamDaisy's Back in Town by Rachel GibsonThe Scent of Jasmine (Edilean) by Jude DeverauxDeath in the Orchid Garden (Gardening Mysteries) by Ann RipleyMagnolia Dreams (Richmond ) by Virginia GaffneyThe Thorn (Rose Trilogy #1) by Beverly LewisBlack Rose (In the Garden Trilogy) by Nora RobertsPrincess Daisy by Judith KrantzFor the Roses by Julie GarwoodOrchid Blues (Holly Barker) by Stuart WoodsFlower Fables by Louisa May AlcottUnder the Lilacs by Louisa May AlcottDaisy Miller by Henry James*

* Books I've read and Loved
**Books TBR on my Kindles

Other Flower Books (not to be missed):

Language of Flowers by Kate GreenawayThe Power of Flower Colors by Rebecca Yaacov

As you can see from all the books listed above, I'm definitely drawn to books with flower titles. Hey, what can I say? I love flowers!

Thursday, January 24, 2013

As a redhead, the color red has always been a part of my life. I learned early on that my red hair set me apart. I was one of the very few kids, in my neighborhood and school, to have red hair. The cute, popular girls were blonds and I was, well, just a redhead.

When I was a child I remember wanting a red dress, but I was told over and over that "Redheads can't wear red." What? Is that true? So I never did get that red dress. Even as an adult I've yet to own or wear a red dress.

Power suits are supposed to be red, but I never had one of those either. My suits were always black, brown, gray or tan, never power-red.

Once upon a time I had a pair of red slacks which I wore with a red and white striped blouse. I loved that outfit, but no one ever said, "Gee, you look great in red."

I once owned a candy-apple red Opal GT. It was an older sports car with faded red paint when I got it, but spiffed up with that candy-apple red paint job it looked great. I only had it for a couple years, because the engine had problems and it kept breaking down. That was during my college years and I couldn't afford to keep paying for repairs.

In my late thirties I had a fire-engine red, 4-wheel-drive, Isuzu Trooper. Well, it wasn't just mine, I had to share it with my husband. One vehicle for two adults. We couldn't afford a second vehicle at the time. Suffice to say I loved that red Trooper and drove it for well over 100,000 miles. When we finally sold it the paint was a faded red.

Talking about faded red, well, my red hair is now quite faded too. I may be older and wiser, but I'm also faded. Oh well, it's better than the alternative. These days I have a gray vehicle. To match the gray in my hair?

Now as I was saying, the color red has always been a part of my life. Besides being a writer, I'm also an artist. So I love colors. Alizarin Crimson, an awesome shade of red, is one of my favorites. I once did a series of paintings in black, gray, white and lots of red. I really enjoyed painting them, but never sold a one. They're now buried somewhere out in my garage. Gee, some people just don't appreciate the color red.

I happen to love flowers, particularly those in shades of red, roses especially, but during the holidays I enjoy poinsettias too. That's why I decided on the poinsettias photo above for this post.

My husband has his eye on a bright red Chevy Corvette. Personally, I'd rather have a red Chevy Silverado 4x4 with a crew-cab. But we're not likely to ever get either one since money doesn't happen to grow on trees. If we ever do get rich, well, you know where I'm going with this train of thought.

Well, after putting together the above lists of books, I'm seeing a lot of red. I hope you all find some red books you'd like to read. Thanks so much for stopping by. Hmm! What color should I write about next?

Sunday, January 20, 2013

On December 30th Amazon/Kindle had a Daily Deal I could not pass up. All of Ian Fleming's James Bond books were offered as eBooks for $1.99/ea. Now I have been a 007 fan for like forever, but had never read the books. Well, how could I pass up a deal like that? So just before midnight, when the offer would expire, I added thirteen of the fourteen books to my Kindles (my old Kindle Keyboard and my newer Kindle Fire). Why not all fourteen books? Well, I had previously added one of the books to my Kindle a few months back, but had never gotten around to reading it.

Now let me back up a bit. I said I'd never read the James Bond books before, but that's not quite true. When I was a school age kid, around the ages of eight to twelve, I used to sneak "those books" out of my dad's top dresser drawer and read as much as I could in a few minutes sitting. You see, my dad read and loved all of Ian Fleming's 007 books, but warned me that I was too young to read them myself. Well, any parent knows that a warning like that will certainly lead to said child reading those same books.

My dad said the same about the Louis L'Amour books that he read, so I would sneak-read those too, but that's another story for another post. The result, today I own just about every single Louis L'Amour book ever written, all in paperback and to date I've read over half of them. My dad also said the same about the Zane Grey books he was reading and Zane Grey's books are now among my all time favorite reads.

So maybe the lesson here is to tell your child not to read something, which results in said child becoming a voracious reader who is addicted to books. Well, in retrospect, I don't see the harm in my reading Ian Fleming, Louis L'Amour and Zane Grey as a child. The books are wonderfully written and quite tame when compared to today's YA books.

Sadly, my dad passed away from cancer back in 1996, so I never got a chance to tell him that I used to secretly reads bits of his books. Well, I hope that somehow he's learning about that now.

So back to "Bond, James Bond." The invincible 007 is certainly one of the handsomest, to-die-for heroes ever created by the stroke of a pen. I wonder if Ian Fleming realized that as he wrote the very first book, Casino Royale.

The James Bond books were published between 1953 and 1966, one a year. But 007 didn't make it to the big screen until 1962 with Dr. No, the sixth book in the series. Sadly, Ian Fleming passed away in 1966 and didn't live to see that his unconquerable James Bond would live on forever in his books and on the big screen.

On New Year's Eve I started reading the James Bond books. To date, I've read the first three and absolutely loved them. I wrote short reviews for each of those books on Goodreads and will continue to review each one as finished. In my opinion, Ian Fleming was a 5-Star author. Don't for one minute think his books were pulp fiction. Believe me, these books are awesome reads. Written in the '50s and '60s, these books are not politically correct according to today's standards, but don't let that put you off. Just jump in and start reading about "Bond, James Bond."

Now the other side of the bigger-than-life James Bond character are the 007 movies. I don't need to point out that just about every adult and YA female on the planet has fallen madly in love with James Bond. Sean Connery's portrayal of James Bond is, well, to-die-for. I've loved every actor who played James Bond, from Sean Connery to Daniel Craig and everyone in between. Do I have one favorite? Oh, please, don't make me pick just one. Suffice to say, I love them all.

I've seen all but the newest James Bond movie, Skyfall with Daniel Craig as 007. Due to the holidays, I just haven't had a chance to see that one, but rest assured I will. How could I possibly miss one single James Bond 007 movie? I love every one of them.

My step-father, who passed away a few years ago, loved the James Bond movies and had a collection of all but the latest ones. So when I visited my mom last week, I borrowed that collection. I'm looking forward to watching all the movies as I read the books. It'll be interesting to compare the books and movies. Plus, I can't think of a better way to spend some of the chilly winter days and nights. Of course, I live in Florida where winter is very short, so I need to get busy on my James Bond 007 marathon of books and movies. Sleep? What's that? I have books to read and movies to watch. Catch you all later.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

A couple days after Christmas my camera broke. The shutter button (plastic???) snapped off. This camera and I have been close companions since 2005. We have covered a lot of miles (back and forth across the country) and taken some awesome photos along the way. How could I even function without my camera?

My first response was to look everywhere for the broken button. I'd just taken some photos out by the sound, so it was working just minutes before. Well, I found the button, a cheap little piece of plastic, and discovered it was definitely broken off and couldn't be reattached. So my camera died just like that. Thankfully it didn't happen on Christmas, so I got all those wonderful photos of my grandkids opening presents. But I still wasn't prepared for the sudden demise of a camera I loved.

I've been in love with cameras since practically forever. I remember my grandfather, Pop, taking photos of me when I was a little tyke. I must have been around seven when I asked Santa for a camera and received a Brownie Instamatic. Those were the days of black and white prints. When I graduated to color photos it was awesome.

Well, through the years I've gone through many cameras: Kodak, Nikon, Canon, Sony and others. I had an underwater camera way back when, but it didn't last long. My 35mm Nikon only lasted a few years before it died. My 35mm Canon Rebel has been sitting unused ever since I got my Sony Cyber-shot DSC-H5 digital camera. I love this camera and definitely wasn't ready for it to give up the ghost.

The logical response was to see if I could get my camera repaired. I took it to the only local camera shop that does repairs and was told it would cost $192. OMG! That's the price of a brand new camera. My husband found someone online who claimed he could fix the camera for $70 plus shipping and handling. Still pricey for a tiny little plastic part.

I spent a week researching digital cameras. I wanted high-speed so I could take action shots of my grandkids and my dogs. I needed a good zoom for vacations and trips to the zoo. The ability to take digital movies was a plus. I read zillions of reviews and checked out cameras online and at local stores. Wow! I had no idea there were so many to chose from. Finally, I decided on a Sony Cyber-shot DSC-HX20V.

Size and price played a big part in my final decision. The HX20V is considerably smaller than my old H5. It fits in the palm of my hand and I can carry it easily in my purse, something I couldn't do before. The cost was $299 at Walmart (up to $399 elsewhere) and they just happened to have one in stock in my local store. I got a three year replacement warranty for only $28 (higher elsewhere).

My H5 is 7.2 mp, 12x optical zoom and took 720p movies. My new HX20V is 18.2 mp, 20x optical zoom, high speed for action shots and takes HD 1080p movies. I still miss the ease of my old camera. This new one does all kinds of things that I've yet to try out. I actually have to read the instruction manual, which is something I hate doing. My new camera and I are still getting acquainted. We've only been together for a couple weeks. I'm hoping this will be a love-match, we haven't reached that level yet, but it's looking good so far.

Well, for those who follow my blog, you know how I love to put together lists of books. This time I was surprised to find a treasure trove of fiction that has photos, photography or photojournalism as part of the story. I haven't read any of these books, except for The Bridges of Madison County, but they all look like great reads.

Sunday, January 6, 2013

This is a morning to smile. I have just been awarded the "Sunshine Blogger Award!" by the incredibly amazing Jeff Whelan, author of the quirky, fabulous, fun space opera, Space Orville. Check out the link below for Jeff's awesome blog and his post about the award. Jeff gave this award to ten bloggers, so I'm in great company. Be sure to visit all those wonderful blogs. The links are on Jeff's post.

One of the key things in getting this award is to answer ten questions. So here are my responses.

1) What is your passion? That's an easy one, my grandkids. My grandson is six and a half and already a great reader. My identical twin granddaughters are almost four. They're all passionate about books, just like me. My passion for books is what inspires me to write.

2) Favorite time of year? I'd have to say summer. I love the warm weather and cerulean blue skies. Here on the Florida Gulf Coast that also means awesome beach days. I've been in love with the beach since I was a little bitty kid. I love sand between my toes and gentle surf.

3) Favorite book? Now this is a hard one. I have sooooo many favorite books, so narrowing it down to one is extremely difficult. Can I cheat and list two? My absolute favs are: The Moonspinners by Mary Stewart and Riders of the Purple Sage by Zane Grey. I've read both of those books more times than I can count. If I was going to cheat even more and add a third it would be The Alexandria Quartet by Lawrence Durrell.

4) Favorite movie? Oh no! Another hard one. One movie? How could I possibly narrow it down to one? Well, I'm going to cheat again and list two favs: Breakfast at Tiffany's and Friendly Persuasion. Yes, I've watched those more times than I can count. I have to include a third, Casablanca.5) Favorite animal?This one is easy, dogs. I currently have two, Shani and Dude, and I blog about them and post their pics all the time. I've had dogs since I was a baby. They're all about unconditional love, something we all need.

6) Favorite time of day? I love the sunshine, but my favorite time happens to be the middle of the night. I'm a night-owl and much of my inspiration comes to me in the darkest, quiet hours. It's also the best time to read, write or play on the net.

7) Favorite flower? Gardenia. The smell is awesome! Roses are a close second.

8) Favorite non-alcoholic beverage? Coffee, coffee and more coffee. I'll drink it black, but I prefer a dollop of milk. If I don't care about the calories, half-and-half or cream is even better. My daily fav is 100% Columbian. However, I went to Jamaica twice and fell in love with Blue Mountain Coffee. If I could afford it, I'd drink that every day.

9) Favorite physical activity? Reading. No kidding, reading is about the most active I get these days. In days of yore I used to swim, surf, water-ski, snow-ski, backpack, bike, baseball, tennis, climb trees and even run. But back surgery in 2004, osteoarthritis and degenerative back disease have slowed me down a bit. Well, my dogs do take me for a walk now and then, but they prefer car rides.

10) Favorite vacation? This is an easy one. Several years back my husband and I, along with his sister and her husband, took a three week, five thousand mile road-trip through Australia and the Outback. We drove from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road, Port Campbell, the wine country in Barossa Valley, looking for opals in Coober Pedy, climbed Ayers Rock/Uluru in the Red Center, then north on the Stuart Highway through Alice Springs, Mataranka, Tennant Creek and Katherine to Darwin on the north coast. Then we explored Kakadu, which is awesome. Then south again back to Tennant Creek and east through the heart of the Outback stations to Mt. Isa and then to Queensland and the exotic coast: Port Townsend, Cairns and the Daintree Rainforest. We even managed a day-long boat trip out to the Great Barrier Reef. Whew! That was a lot of traveling for three weeks time. I have awesome photos and movies of the trip and incredible memories. For those who might ask, our trip was very economical considering all the places we visited. No tour guides, just a good rental camper-van and an adventurous spirit. This trip was the inspiration for my contemporary romance novel, Outback Love, which includes many of the awesome places we visited. Would we do it again? If we had the money, you betcha!

Now here's the cool part of the "Sunshine Blogger Award!" I get to pass this award on to some other cool, awesome, incredible, amazing bloggers. So here are the ones I picked (in no particular order):

Now assuming the above bloggers have time to receive the "Sunshine Blogger Award!" all you need to do is answer the ten questions below and select up to ten of your own favorite bloggers to receive the award.

I want to thank Jeff Whelan for honoring me with the "Sunshine Blogger Award!" It's so cool to have my blog noticed and enjoyed by other bloggers. It was also a lot of fun putting this post together. For those of you reading this post, I hope you'll check out the great blogs listed above.

MOON OVER MADNESS by Teri Heyer

BAYOU BLUES AND OTHER SORROWS by Teri Heyer

Teri Heyer, Writer/Dreamer

I grew up in southern California where I enjoyed the beaches, mountains and desert. In my teens, I was actually a surfer girl, though I spent most of my time under the surf instead of on the board. I've been in love with books all my life and decided I wanted to be a writer all the way back in my grammar school days. I wrote my first short stories at around ten years of age. I've always been a dreamer and often got in trouble in school for daydreaming. What can I say? I still daydream every chance I get. Oh, I married a southern boy from Alabama and we've lived all over the country. Now that my husband is retired, we're living back in Florida to be near our daughter and young grandkids. This is a great place for a writer to live. I have two big dogs, Shani and Dude, who keep me company while I'm writing. I hope you enjoy reading my books. I have a lot more stories yet to write.